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OCLR: A More Expressive, Pattern-Based Temporal Extension of OCL

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Modelling Foundations and Applications (ECMFA 2014)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 8569))

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Abstract

Modern enterprise information systems often require to specify their functional and non-functional (e.g., Quality of Service) requirements using expressions that contain temporal constraints. Specification approaches based on temporal logics demand a certain knowledge of mathematical logic, which is difficult to find among practitioners; moreover, tool support for temporal logics is limited. On the other hand, a standard language such as the Object Constraint Language (OCL), which benefits from the availability of several industrial-strength tools, does not support temporal expressions.

In this paper we propose OCLR, an extension of OCL with support for temporal constraints based on well-known property specification patterns. With respect to previous extensions, we add support for referring to a specific occurrence of an event as well as for indicating a time distance between events and/or from scope boundaries. The proposed extension defines a new syntax, very close to natural language, paving the way for a rapid adoption by practitioners. We show the application of the language in a case study in the domain of eGovernment, developed in collaboration with a public service partner.

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Dou, W., Bianculli, D., Briand, L. (2014). OCLR: A More Expressive, Pattern-Based Temporal Extension of OCL. In: Cabot, J., Rubin, J. (eds) Modelling Foundations and Applications. ECMFA 2014. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 8569. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09195-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-09195-2_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-09194-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-09195-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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